Author: Olu Anisere

Nigeria’s CNG Conversion Capacity Increases by 2,500% – NMDPRA The Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) has said that the country’s Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) conversion capacity increased by over 2,500 per cent in 2024. Mr Farouk Ahmed, Authority Chief Executive, NMDPRA, said this on Thursday in Abuja at the inaugural Petroleum Industry Stakeholders’ Forum, organised by the Ministry of Petroleum Resources. Ahmed said that NMDPRA supported the Presidential Compressed Natural Gas Initiative (PCNGI) by stimulating 186 new conversion centers which triggered the county’s conversion capacity. “The NMDPRA will continue to collaborate with the PCNGI to ensure deployment…

Oil Prices Decline on Middle East Ceasefire, Market Correction Oil prices dipped in the global commodity market amidst mounting supply risk relating to U.S. sanctions on the Russian complex. Brent is trading below $82 on market riskoffs sentiment as Israeli and Hamas ceasefire ignites hope. Oil prices traded weaker yesterday, with Brent falling back below US$82 per barrel. From a technical point of view, the market is in overbought territory and so overdue a correction, ING commodities strategists said in a note. Analysts believe that mounting supply risks continue to provide broad support to oil prices. There are reports that…

Interbank Rates Decline as Banking System Deficit Moderated The banking system is facing a huge liquidity deficit, which at the last count was N190.50 billion on Thursday, an improvement from N249.3 billion deficit reported midweek. The inflows that reduced pressures of liquidity size affected the short-term interest rates benchmark. Interbank rates eased as the banking system liquidity deficit moderated, investment firms said in separate reports. On Thursday, the deficit in the banking system moderated by about 24% to close at ₦190.50 billion. The banking system has been relatively tight this week, with a liquidity deficit as high as N389.7 billion…

NGX Rebounds with N53bn Gain as Dangote, GTCO Rally The Nigerian Exchange (NGX) rebounded with more than N53 billion daily gain as Dangote names, GTCO Plc rally. The domestic bourse closed trading activities on a positive note, breaking its recent losing streaks. This nudged key market performance indicators higher by 0.09% after inflation data. Today’s gain on the Exchange was driven by bargain hunting in some recently depreciated medium and large-scale stocks, including DANGSUGAR, DANGCEM, GTCO, and others. The Nigerian Exchange All-Share Index increased by 87.11 basis points today, representing a rise of +0.09% to close at 102,183.06. Stockbrokers reported…

Trading activities in the Treasury bills market ended on a bullish note even when the data showed that Nigeria’s headline inflation

Money Market Rates Increase as Liquidity Deficit Expands Money market rates increased strongly as the liquidity deficit expanded following the FX auction sales settlement and outflows relating to Remita transactions. This week, huge outflows from swap maturities and cash reserves maintenance debits have exceeded inflows from OMO maturities. These dragged opening system liquidity downward, moving further into negative territory. The market was debited for foreign currency sold to banks. In a note, TrustBanc Financial Group Limited said the banking system liquidity opened with a negative balance for the third consecutive day, standing at ₦249.32 billion from N20.2 billion deficit. Data…

Global Oil Output Rises 20,000 Bpd in December 2024 -IEA Global oil supply increased by about 20,000 barrels per day (bpd) in December 2024 to reach 103.53 million bpd, up by 390,000 bpd from the previous year, according to the International Energy Agency’s (IEA) latest report on Wednesday. According to the Oil Market Report, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries’ (OPEC) crude oil production increased to 27.43 million bpd last month, a rise of 220,000 bpd from the previous month. The group’s total oil production reached approximately 33.06 million bpd, over the same period. Meanwhile, daily oil production in…

Fitch Rates Cross River State ‘B-‘ with Stable Outlook Fitch Ratings has assigned Cross River State a ‘B-‘ Long-Term Foreign- and Local-Currency Issuer Default Ratings (IDRs) and a ‘AA-(nga)’ National Long-Term Rating with stable outlooks. Cross River’s ‘B-‘ credit ratings reflect its dependency on revenue transfers from the federal government of Nigeria, despite improving internally generated revenue (IGR). The state ‘b-‘ standalone credit profile (SCP) reflects manageable but rising debt, with some foreign-currency exposure, according to the global rating agency. “We apply a notch of asymmetric risk to highlight below-standard disclosure on debt details, including interest payments”, the rating note…

Tinubu Says Global Collaboration Key to Sustainable Development President Bola Tinubu on Wednesday assured a global audience in the United Arab Emirates that Nigeria is ready to work with other nations to build a resilient, equitable and sustainable world for all. Tinubu said this while speaking on the topic, “From Climate Imperatives into Economic Prosperity: Bridging Africa with the Global Energy Future,” on the second day of the 2025 Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week. The President declared that no single nation could walk the road to sustainability alone, stressing that global interconnectedness demanded collective action, knowledge sharing and mutual support, Mr…

Nigeria Customs Records 3,555 Seizures in 202, Says C-G The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) says it recorded 3,555 seizures in 2024 with a 100.92 per cent increase in the Duty Paid Value (DPV) of seizures from ₦17.56 billion in 2023, to ₦35.29 billion in 2024. The Comptroller-General (C-G) of NCS, Adewale Adeniyi, disclosed this while briefing newsmen on Tuesday in Abuja. Adeniyi said that the seizures, with a Cost, Insurance, and Freight (CIF) value of ₦28.46 billion and a total duty of ₦6.83 billion, illustrated the scale of attempted economic sabotage prevented by the service. “Particularly noteworthy, were the seizures…